This is according to metro spokesperson, Themba Gadebe, who says the metro has the documentation to prove it.
According to Gadebe, the metro has a huge electricity grid by any standard, therefore outages occur as a result of numerous causes.
“It is regrettable that an image of a failed electricity grid is being portrayed, whilst statistics measured against national standards, indicate the exact opposite.
“The metro manages outages responsibly by recording all outages and their durations, by analysing the causes of the outages, and by then responding to these causes through the application of resources.
“The number of power outages is directly proportional to the number of customers serviced from a specific electrical distribution network.
“Taking into account the electricity distribution network serviced by the metro, it is not an accurate reflection to only refer to the number of outages for eight months in isolation (1 375 outages reported).
“More information must be added in order to accurately reflect the efficiency of the performance of a distribution network.”
According to Gadebe, analysing the following information and background will show that the metro electricity distribution network is still one of the top performers in the country.
Ekurhuleni Electricity Distribution Network information:
* The Energy Department is responsible Ekurhuleni metro-controlled electricity areas, including streetlights and Eskom areas within the City.
* The metro is responsible to distribute 2 600 MVA (Megavolt amperes) to consumers, which can be compared to the amount of electricity used by Botswana, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Namibia combined.
* The current replacement value of the metro distribution network (a system of cables which deliver electric power from its point of generation to the end users) equals R27-billion.
* There are 206 primary (main) distribution substations in Ekurhuleni.
* The length of metro high voltage cables (44kV (kilovolt) to 132kV) used equals a stretch of 239km.
* The length of metro medium voltage cables (1kV (equates to 1 000 volts) to 33kV) used equals 5 612km.
Network reliability
The electrical power quality (PQ) (the term is used to describe electric power that drives an electrical load and the load’s ability to function properly) bought and sold by metro is monitored with data recorded from is monitored through data recorded at more than 400 PQ recorders.
* The major portion of PQ recorders produce data continuously to ensure reliability of the data being monitored. Data availability is 97.79 per cent. – @IschkeBoksburg
